gas on a stick
- noun
- Informal
- The blue cheese tasted like gas on a stick, and I had to spit it out.
Examples
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Trying that new energy drink was like swallowing gas on a stick.
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When the garbage truck passed, the air turned into gas on a stick.
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What a gas on a stick experience!
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This dish tastes like gas on a stick!
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The blue cheese tasted like gas on a stick, and I had to spit it out.
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Trying that new energy drink was like swallowing gas on a stick.
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This dish tastes like gas on a stick and made me want to leave.
Synonyms
A very bad strong smell that makes you feel sick
A thing that is very bad or unpleasant
Something that is very bad and unpleasant
Antonyms
How Unpleasant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase juxtaposes literal words whose normal meanings do not compose in a predictable way — a gaseous substance cannot sensibly be 'on a stick' — so the expression functions as a colloquial, metaphorical evaluation (very unpleasant). This figurative, culture-specific usage is not derivable from standard composition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The phrase gas on a stick gives a clear picture: imagine a nasty gas stuck to a small stick so you must taste it. That's why people use it to say something 'tastes or smells awful'.